# Are these real?



## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

Well I think these are real, but I read a post about the "polish scandal" by Klugs, and I started to wonder. Smoked one and it burned great and tasted even better, but it is only my 2nd cuban cigar ever so I have no idea what they should taste like. The date is burned in, but there is a hologram sticker. If you guys need more info just ask.

It came with one missing, is that normal? (j/k).

View attachment 6512


View attachment 6513


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

Last one...

View attachment 6514


They are lighter in the middle because of the flash, they are all uniform and well made.


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## sirxlaughs (Nov 18, 2005)

The bottom of the box looks weird. Can you get a closer shot of the date stamp and close up of the warranty label?


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## DaveC (Sep 4, 2003)

judging from code and warranty label gloss/color i say 

fakes.

but by no means is this a 100% determination of them not being real, the photos are guides but i would need the box in my hands either way. Did you try a new source?


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## [OT] Loki (May 24, 2006)

did you get them from cuba? If not, I'm saying fake. any bigger pics?


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

My camera wont focus on the warranty seal, POS. Heres the date and factory code.

View attachment 6515


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

New source, yeah. Only and first source actually. :hn


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## clovis (Apr 14, 2004)

I 2nd the "did you buy them in cuba?" question. If these were exports purchased off the island, I'd be very suspicious.

In addition, I want to say that EAR factory, ENE month code popped up elsewhere with fakes...
Not saying that code makes them fakes...just that for some reason it seems like it was concluded that several boxes of fakes were from that factory/month code

Hate to say it...but I I'm goin' with fake...


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## mosesbotbol (Sep 21, 2005)

The font of date stamp looks unusual, for what it's worth. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Either way; enjoy them.


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

My friend's brother lives in Cuba. He mails them to him at cuba prices, then he resells them. The biggest problem is my friend doesn't smoke cigars, just knows his brother that sells them. He sells a lot of them to my other cigar smoking friends who are clueless on real cubans. I would like to figure out once and for all, because it would help a lot of my friends to stop buying fake cigars.


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## GOAT LOCKER (Aug 7, 2004)

I can't make out the year of the date code, but EAR has not been a valid factory code for a few years. Since 01 or 02 I think. Also, as others have said, the hologram screams fake. Fortunately for you, they taste good!


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

I have decided to put all questions to rest and am sending one to MoTheMan for verification.
In the meantime, post your guesses. No prizes, just to see who knows what they are talking about. I believe they are real, but I'm a little bias on the outcome (i'm a college student so a box of ISOM's is about two months of my non-necessity funds) i wont be at the bar for a long time, but thats ok if im smoking ISOMs, a different story if im not


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## cvm4 (Sep 10, 2005)

GOAT LOCKER said:


> I can't make out the year of the date code, but EAR has not been a valid factory code for a few years. Since 01 or 02 I think. Also, as others have said, the hologram screams fake. Fortunately for you, they taste good!


Exactly what I was thinking


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## DaveC (Sep 4, 2003)

ebn2002 said:


> My friend's brother lives in Cuba. He mails them to him at cuba prices, then he resells them. The biggest problem is my friend doesn't smoke cigars, just knows his brother that sells them. He sells a lot of them to my other cigar smoking friends who are clueless on real cubans. I would like to figure out once and for all, because it would help a lot of my friends to stop buying fake cigars.


that's the usual BS story. Either its total BS, or your friends brother needs to go to the proper shops.


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## JohnnyFlake (May 31, 2006)

Where did you buy them and how much did you pay for them?

Without your answer to the above, I'll say this. If you did not buy them in Cuba, in a Casa d' Habano Store or a factory outlet or anywhere else, europe or the islands, in a Casa d' Habano Store, they are fakes!!!

JohnnyFlake


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## Da Klugs (Jan 8, 2005)

DaveC said:


> that's the usual BS story. Either its total BS, or your friends brother needs to go to the proper shops.


I think what our grumpy new dad is trying to say is that most of the time the legacy of fakes leads back to this kind of story. My view is that Cuban fakes fall into 3 basic categories:

Rebanded cigars:

Recently a large facility in Miami was busted doing this. These cigars are either rebanded honduran, nic etc. in which case they smoke OK just not with the Cuban flavor as they contain no Cuban tobacco. Pretty easy to spot due to the lack of triple caps on most and the odd sizing.

Fakes rolled outside of Cuba:

The worst tasting fakes I have smoked are ones produced outside of Cuba from counterfeit materials. (See Polish fakeroo fiasco) In some cases they are rolled "especially for you". I think they do this to put the triple cap on to try and make them appear as Cuban as possible. Unfortunately, the focus on these is purely cosmetic as they may be rolled out of some of the worst tasting leaf you have ever smoked.

Cuban Cottage fakes:

There are many, many fakes produced in Cuba. It's a cottage industry. Folks steal/make the boxes, bands seals and holograms (which my understanding is used only for cigars boxes sold at retail within Cuba for export), roll their own from Cuban tobacco that they "get their hands on" and sell on the street as legit cigars you can get "a deal on".. These are "cuban fakes". These can be the best tasting or at least most Cuban tasting of all the fakes. But fakes they be. Not blended like the real deal. If your friends brother really got them in Cuba and was admitting the real place he bought them... well it's probably a location on a street vs. a legitimate retail outlet. More likely he get's them stateside and the story would continue there.

The moral is ..... Buy from legit dealers. There is no place to get real ones at severe discounts.


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## Puffy69 (Sep 8, 2005)

ebn2002 said:


> I have decided to put all questions to rest and am sending one to MoTheMan for verification.
> In the meantime, post your guesses. No prizes, just to see who knows what they are talking about. I believe they are real, but I'm a little bias on the outcome (i'm a college student so a box of ISOM's is about two months of my non-necessity funds) i wont be at the bar for a long time, but thats ok if im smoking ISOMs, a different story if im not


good idea..


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## ToddziLLa (Oct 17, 2005)

_Excellent_ explanation Dave! And FWIW, the date stamp looks all f'ed up to me at first glance.


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## rumballs (Mar 15, 2005)

what, no boobie pics in this thread?


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## ToddziLLa (Oct 17, 2005)

mmblz said:


> what, no boobie pics in this thread?


:r *Are these real?*


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## Da Klugs (Jan 8, 2005)

mmblz said:


> what, no boobie pics in this thread?


We have no pics of you Julian. 

Yes they are real. And they are magnificent. :r


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## ToddziLLa (Oct 17, 2005)

Must you always trump other people's threads with your inexpensive, fake Dominican cigars Dave? The nerve... :r


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## rumballs (Mar 15, 2005)

Da Klugs said:


> Yes they are real. And they are magnificent. :r


Do you mean to look at?
cuz if not, I don't want to know how many boxes you have....


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## MoTheMan (May 24, 2003)

Da Klugs said:


> I think what our grumpy new dad is trying to say is that most of the time the legacy of fakes leads back to this kind of story. My view is that Cuban fakes fall into 3 basic categories:
> 
> Rebanded cigars:
> 
> ...


I kid you not. There are FAKE shops even in Havana. Guess some of the profit they make goes to grease a few palms.

Beware, beware, beware . . . until you've got the experience to tell.

Guess I'm going to be the guinea pig to smoke one & let you know.

Eric, is that "friend of a friend" really your source?!

Honestly, there are some good black market sticks out there, but you really can't compare the experience of a black market stick to a legit one. I mean, does anyone really know what kind of a blend they're putting in the Black Market stick, when compared with a legit one, and can they duplicate that blend from box to box?!


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## Neuromancer (Sep 7, 2005)

ToddziLLa said:


> :r *Are these real?*


Woo...if she every tried to nurse a kid there'd be a good chance he'd get smothered...not by SID, but by BID...Boob Infant Death syndrome....and if ya stuck a stogie in between them a poor kid could end up suffering from CigarBID syndrome...


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## pinoyman (Jan 28, 2005)

Da Klugs said:


> We have no pics of you Julian.
> 
> Yes they are real. And they are magnificent. :r


*Dave, They look so good and I can smell them! ( the cigars)

Forget the box code and the seal.
tha cigar caps are all different and looks funny.
of course, I may be wrong...*


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## OpusXtasy (Apr 2, 2005)

ToddziLLa said:


> :r *Are these real?*


Definately real but the teeth are fake!


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## DaveC (Sep 4, 2003)

see those black and blues on her arm, somebody grabbed her really hard. I bet those marks are real.


:r


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## One Lonely Smoker (Jan 21, 2005)

If those are 03 or under, there is no panic on the stamp style, La Corona factory cigars used a stamp that looked exactly like that for a time. But the rolling does not look remotely neat and uniform enough to suit me. If they didn't smell exactly right, I would say fakes. Like many have said, re-using a legit box is a no brainer. But I like to stay out of hard-core fake IDing since pictures only tell half the story on their best day.


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## Andyman (Jun 8, 2004)

Fom the title I thought this was going to be another Pam Anderson thread..


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

I want to thank everyone for their input. The consensus seems to be that they are fake, MoTheMan will have the answer for us early next week (I will ship him one Wed. or Thurs. of this week). 

I did lick my finger and rub the date stamp (which is why it looks weird), the date stamp is burned in. The cigars are definitely cuban, I think MO will vouch on that one (they smell like :BS and hay) but they might not be Monte's (DaKlugs' cottage rolled specials).

These are the things that make me now think they're fake:
ENE 2005 box with EAR as the factory (oh-uh!)
ENE 2005 box with DB as start of serial number (should be F or G, I think)
Cuba hologram
There was no wax paper on the 'gars when I first opened the box (don't know if these particular ones have that, but in the cuban pictures section there is a box of #2's with it)

Which raises these questions:
Did this counterfeiter take the time to burn in the date and factory but not to research the correct factory code? 
Why would he attach the cuba hologram if it signals fakes?
He bought the habanos chevron, warranty seal, etc.. but not wax paper?

And yes Mo, a GOOD friend (like 11 years, went to high school together) sold these to me ( well he was a good friend, but I will not confront him until your judgement).

Thanks again, Eric


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## One Lonely Smoker (Jan 21, 2005)

ebn2002 said:


> I
> These are the things that make me now think they're fake:
> ENE 2005 box with EAR as the factory (oh-uh!)
> ENE 2005 box with DB as start of serial number (should be F or G, I think)
> ...


Oh crap, you didn't say they were Jan o5 EAR! I never could read that. Yes, if you have ENE 05 cigars that purport to be EAR, you have not just fakes in a real box, you have fakes. You needn't send cigars out to prove that. The seal serial numbers are indeed way out of sequence, and I bet when you look at the red ink, the entire line looks the same exact shade. In truth to the naked eye, the numbers should be slightly different shades of red from the letters, owing to the difference in the ink's flourescing qualities. Wax paper is only about a fifty fifty shot and rarely a good or bad sign. But you can save the postage. You are the proud owner of a box of fake-o's Sorry about that.


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

I'm still going to mail one...

The ISOM box codes at cigar weekly state they charged the La Corona factory in 2003, however they also say..."Once again Habanos S.A. has changed factory codes. Starting in May 2003 several new codes have appeared. While we are still seeing quite a few codes from the 2000 list above, so far we have been able to decipher a few of the new ones."

http://www.cigarweekly.com/community/resources/cuban_box_codes.asp

this is me-

---------:tpd:


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## One Lonely Smoker (Jan 21, 2005)

ebn2002 said:


> I Why would he attach the cuba hologram if it signals fakes?
> He bought the habanos chevron, warranty seal, etc.. but not wax paper?


Hate to clog up the thread, but the irony is that the fakers often think, OK, the Cuban government is making these seals to ensure authenticity, HA, I can buy these things 2 for a dollar. I'll show THEM. Truth is, they do not know the subtleties like people who obsess on these things do, like all of US. He thinks he just produced golden fakes, when he actually did you a favor, well, not in this case, but in general, it's usually the things that these people think HAVE TO BE DONE that get them in the most trouble. Cause in reality, putting it all together correctly is not as easy for them as it would be if they researched the business they were infiltrating. I guess they have other things to do. I mean, most forums are totally free. If I ever go into the business of ripping all of you guys off, I can guarantee you that I will stay current and in the know about what exactly I need to do. Truth is scumbags are not usually that smart. That's why they have to resort to ripping people off. Cause they are not bright enough to earn their millions legitimately.


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## Baric (Jun 14, 2006)

Is the seal applied in the right place (i think it is meant to be placed so that opening the box will break the Cuban govts shield on the seal)? Still, even if they are fakes you dont seem to have done too badly by them. Cuban fakes can be better than many genuine NCs if you like Cuban tobacco.


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

It was an excellent cigar Baric, and much better than 99% of the NC's I have smoked, so at least I dont have a box of Cremosas!. I paid $250 for the box though:c , I could have got the real thing for that.


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## MoTheMan (May 24, 2003)

ebn2002 said:


> I want to thank everyone for their input. The consensus seems to be that they are fake, MoTheMan will have the answer for us early next week (I will ship him one Wed. or Thurs. of this week). *You know, there are other FOG here that you can send them too as well!*
> 
> I did lick my finger and rub the date stamp (which is why it looks weird), the date stamp is burned in. The cigars are definitely cuban, I think MO will vouch on that one (they smell like :BS and hay) but they might not be Monte's (DaKlugs' cottage rolled specials).
> 
> ...


That is all.


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## MoTheMan (May 24, 2003)

FAKE !

Fake as a $3 bill.

Look, rather than go into a long explanation about how the wrapper was too thick to be Habano, or that on dissection it was made of mixed filler including shredded leaves, or rather how the band was both the wrong shade and had too much sheen (even for a post '03 MC band), let's just say this . . . PM me your address.

Hold onto one cigar and return the rest for a REFUND!! :c Send me your PM and I will send you 3 different (brands of) Torpedos to try. You can shoose to smoke them side by side with the MC you have to compare. Trust me, there will be no comparison. I'll also send you my telephone # & you can call me for a little chat.

I hate to sound very blunt here BUT your FRIEND DON'T KNOW CHIT!! :tg I wouldn't be buying anything from that source again!!

I would love to go into a loooonng logical explanation as to why this is a fake and so forth, but I've already posted this many times on multiple threads. So let's just say, give me a call!! Your source needs to be :bn *!*


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## poker (Dec 11, 1997)

ebn2002 said:


> Well I think these are real, but I read a post about the "polish scandal" by Klugs, and I started to wonder. Smoked one and it burned great and tasted even better, but it is only my 2nd cuban cigar ever so I have no idea what they should taste like. *The date is burned in*, but there is a hologram sticker. If you guys need more info just ask.
> 
> It came with one missing, is that normal? (j/k).
> 
> ...


Im suprised nobody caught this (in bold) from the original post. The date should be the only thing on the bottom thats *NOT* burned in. It should be an ink stamp.


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

Thanks for all your work Mo. PM sent.
Now I gotta go try to get my $ back!:c


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## MoTheMan (May 24, 2003)

Cruise Missile will be launched before we talk today!

*BWAHAHAHAHA!*


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